The Renku Sessions: Pilgrims' Stride 35
Welcome to The Renku Sessions. Renku is a participatory literary game, following a set of rules that are implemented by the leader of the session. If you would like to learn more about renku go here. And if you would like to see a sample of a complete renku go here.
I’m John Stevenson, and I will serve as your guide for this session, a thirty-six verse (kasen) renku. I have supplied the opening verse (hokku) and each week I will select an additional verse from among those submitted prior to the Tuesday deadline.
This may have been our most productive week. We have been gifted with one-hundred-twenty-three offers, from twenty-two poets, including some first time contributors. And we have also benefited from a discussion about kigo that I trust has proven educational for all of us. I must admit that I had the spring kigo “ants emerge” in mind when looking at the offers for verse thirty-four and, as a consequence, I was predisposed to read the verse that I selected as relating to this image. I do see, based upon the subsequent discussion, that a different reading is quite as likely. Live and learn!
There were so many interesting offers this time. I can’t list them all but here is a sample:
blossoms
lying on both sides
of the peace wall
- –Marion Clarke
placing her lei
of dandelions
on the garden gnome
- –Maureen Virchau
Cherry blossoms raise
a ladder of fragrances
from earth to stars
- –Vasile Moldovan
scented soaps for one
who views the blossoms
from her room
- –Ellen Grace Olinger
a single blossom
like a hand print
on the window
- –joel irusta
not yet
brushing blossoms
off the baby’s toes
- –Peg Duthie
not believing
until I stood beneath
the cherry trees
- –Sandra Simpson
at the sawmill
cherry blossoms mix
with sawdust
- –Carole MacRury
first fine day
and already
blossom rain
- –Christopher Patchel
a Burmese harp
tuned to the key
of fallen blossoms
- –Lorin Ford
the sound of oars
as rowers glide among
drifting petals
- –Carmen Sterba
how much further
this fiddlehead
can still unfurl
- –Scott Mason
And poets not yet included in our renku had much to offer:
Yuccas bloom
among broken shards
of glass
- –John Armstrong
blossoms at the gate
so many
I’m shut out
- –Todd Treloar-Rhodes
among dandelions
a wormhole away
China beckons
- –jerry julius
overcome by
the scent of orchids
filling the Town Hall
- –barbara a. taylor
The verse I have selected is one that I see as relating to the nature of kigo. Whether we are writing a blossom verse, a moon verse, or using season words in any of our links, it is important that the thing be itself. The moon should be the moon and be present – the absence of the moon or an idiom in which the word moon does not refer to the moon itself does not manifest the spirit of a kigo. Whatever blossom we have selected is to be the thing itself and not a plastic version.
Juxtaposed with the preceding verse, which features an interface between two communities, the selected verse does its own interior link and shift by presenting first the reproduced image of blossoms and then the original.
And here is the verse you must link to:
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too–Michael Dylan Welch
Our renku concludes with the next verse, the thirty-sixth. This is not an attempt to say “the end.” In fact, it is important that this verse suggest, instead, a sense of onward movement and optimism . Here are the requirements for verse thirty-six:
- Spring image
- Written in two lines, without a cut
- Linking with the thirty-fifth verse, and only the thirty-fifth verse
- Shifting widely to a new topic and setting
Add your suggested two-line link below, in the Comments box. You have until midnight EST, Tuesday, November 11, 2014. You may submit as many verses as you like, but please use a new comment box for each one. I will announce my selection for the next (and final) link on Thursday, November 13 here on the blog. There will be a final posting, on November 27, in which I will offer some reflections on our experiment in renku.
What We’ll Be Looking For — Throughout the Session
There are many schematic outlines for a kasen renku. We will be using one set out by Professor Fukuda in his book Introduction to World-linking Renku. It will not be necessary for you to have a copy of this book since instructions will be offered before each verse is solicited.
It is a good idea for those participating in the composition of a renku to make use of the same list of season words. There are a number of these lists available and I intend no judgment of their relative value. For purposes of this session I am suggesting the use of The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words.
Pilgrims’ Stride to Date
comparing maps
to the mountain pass–
pilgrims’ stride–John Stevenson
a sun-warmed stone bridge
over snowmelt–Billie Wilson
dampened soil
of seed trays
in the glasshouse–Margaret Beverland
grandmother’s silverware
polished every monday–Polona Oblak
a sonata
on the concert Steinway
played to the moon–Lorin Ford
dragonflies hover
by the swaying reeds–Karen Cesar
slight hum
of a drone
in fog–Alice Frampton
the atmosphere
thick with teenage pheromones–Norman Darlington
I stumble
trying to reply
“I plight thee my troth.”–Paul MacNeil
thinking of a red wig
during chemo–Asni Amin
the woodland
of silent stories
and shadow–Alan Summers
he makes a wish
to become real–Marion Clarke
each mirror reflects
only the cool moon
rising–kris moon
freshly-caught fish
sizzles in the pan–Aalix Roake
a wealthy prince
exiled in Nigeria
soliciting my help–Christopher Patchel
sugar plum fairy came
and hit the streets…–Jennifer Sutherland
a milky nimbus
at dusk
beneath the cherry tree–Scott Mason
pulling in spring clouds
with a telephoto lens–Dru Philippou
plain truth
of a skylark’s
song–Stella Pierides
our yoga instructor
tells us to breathe–Priscilla Van Valkenburgh
smoldering dung cakes
burning in the blackened pit
flavors the curry–Betty Shropshire
the family’s grudge
celebrates a century–batsword
first snowfall
covering little by little
all the dirt–Vasile Moldovan
scraping the ice rink
of blood, sweat and tears–Carole MacRury
the sting
of a paper cut
on her tongue–Terri French
used books signed
for someone special–Ellen Grace Olinger
a large voddy tonny
for the woman who may be
his next wife–Sandra Simpson
stirring the crowd
with the slur of a slur–Maureen Virchau
continents join
under this moon
the bones of my head–Patrick Sweeney
the scarecrow reads
renku to the rabbits–joel irusta
pickled grapes and walnuts
swaddled in silk
in my messenger bag–Peg Duthie
no more wet newspapers
since the online version–Carmen Sterba
a gothic revival
emerges
with a single click–Marilyn Potter
ants open a crack between
their city and ours–Mark Harris
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too–Michael Dylan Welch
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hummingbirds hover between
the tree and the window pane
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
gathering dust
from butterfly wings
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the sound of laughter
pink in the haze
– Lorin Ford
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the sound of laughter
through the haze
– Lorin Ford
Pat, just type your haiku, one per comment box, followed by your name.
– Lorin
How so I submit?
Cio-Cio San honors
the fall of a butterfly
Oops…editing to:
Cio-Cio San honors
a fallen butterfly
ciocio-san honors
the fall of a butterfly
grizzled gasbag retrieves
an orphaned balloon
grizzled gas bags huzzah
for straggler balloons
grizzled gas bags huzzah
for a straggler balloon
magnetic bearings
steels a butterfly
iron will
of a butterfly
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
spring grasses
amongst the graffiti
– Lorin (channeling Jan Bostok 🙂
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
just one breath
scatters dandelion seeds
– Lorin
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
a dandelion’s seed-head
gone in one puff
– Lorin
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
heat shimmer rising
from the port-a-loo
(well, possibly not. 😉
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
young sweetfish
even sweeter
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
butterflies returning
as men
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
at low tide
they are all beachcombers
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
butterflies returning
as converts
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the colt teaches the man
to horse whisper
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the colt teaches the boy
to horse whisper
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
learning to horse whisper
with the colt
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
everyone plays
with soap bubbles
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
gathering herbs
and souls
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
an extra lantern
to show the way home
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
turning over the padi
a large blue butterfly
– Sandra Simpson
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
toasting our good fortune
with cloud-shaped glasses
– Sandra Simpson
– Sandra Simpson
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
lying together on the lawn
we name the clouds
– Sandra Simpson
– Sandra Simpson
*** last post is supposed to be ‘field’ not ‘fielf’
earthy smells
of tilling a fielf
bare feet warm soil
tilling a field
a star chart unfolds
within a butterfly
a star chart within
as a butterfly unfurls
whinnies from a pasture
encouraging colts
pastured racehorses
nuzzle new wobbly colts
rising carp
carpe diem
bubbly toddlers gaze transfixed
at tadpoles wriggling free
warm and serene
lingering day
toddlers bubble up laughter
as tadpoles wriggle free
Gratitude alone lifts the soul like
ten thousand soaring kites
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
spring lanterns
light the way home
– Lorin Ford
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
a whinny and snort
from the thoroughbred colt
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the squeals of girls
blowing soap bubbles
monarchs! monarchs!
Oh Moritake…
*edit*
the monarch lays her egg
under a milkweed leaf
tadpoles gain a leg
on the rising carp
rising koi never carp
about the size of a pond
coy looks
at the rising koi
kids with carp kites
fill the empty field
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
one kite soaring
high above the others
Thank you for your kind words, Marion. It has been a wonderful experience for me, as well. I adore your concept of “listening” to one’s childhood. 🙂
Yes, many thanks to John Stevenson and to all the talented poets here.
one massive trunk births
ten thousand tree buds
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
one of the seven gods holds
a red bream under his arm
–Alan Summers
n.b. One of the so-called seven gods of good fortune holds a fishing rod and a huge tai under his arm.
Tai are red bream in Japan.
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
an intrepid pancake
escapes a shop owner
–Alan Summers
n.b.
A very popular Japanese children’s song is Oyoge! Tai-yaki kun
(“Swim faster! Young tai-yaki”) is about a pancake that evades a shop owner to go to the sea until it’s caught by a red bream fisherman.
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
fishing for tai
with a shrimp
–Alan Summers
n.b.
a metaphor for gaining large profit from a very small investment.
Tai are red bream.
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the red woman wanting
of admiration
–Alan Summers
In Japan, the word tai is written as akame, or “red woman.”
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the red sea bream
snapping squid
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
fish islands tighten their flesh
against the rapid currents
–Alan Summers
n.b. A school of red bream is called uojima, or “fish islands”
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the red sea bream
reflects the ocean’s bounty
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the bush warbler’s song
meets the skylark
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
so many baby birds now
and all cheeping loud
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
are we still yet all tadpoles
after all these years
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
Buddha’s Birthday
has another candle
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
walking the circumference
of the island
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
leaving pinwheels behind us
as memories
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
picking the right moment
for tea
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
rising carp
in the morning hue
–Alan Summers
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the peal of cats
in love
–Alan Summers
she picks up the largest shell
and listens to her childhood
one by one she nudges them
from the edge of the nest
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
along the alley way
sounds of cats in love
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
rushing to the mail-box
knee-deep in fiddleheads
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
excitable fledglings
ready for departure
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
beachcombing, we find
an identical design
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
kites of every colour
sail through azure
an abandoned trough
filling with tadpoles
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
beachcombers lingering
into sunset
– Lorin Ford
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
beachcombers linger
into sunset
– Lorin Ford
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
a tomato seedling
defies the last frost
– Lorin Ford
the horizon with each tilt
of the swing
our beanpole
budding
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
buying my freedom
with sea-glass
– Sandra Simpson
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
however far I roam
a butterfly still a butterfly
– Sandra Simpson
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
how this giant soap bubble
flexes with the wind
– Sandra Simpson
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
blowing bubbles
on a street corner
– Sandra Simpson
a message in the bottle
half in/half out of sand
my feet skim a puddle
under the swing
Ouroboros looks like
she’s about to sneeze
-Patrick
my feet skim the puddle
under the swing
the frog eggs
start to wiggle
a bushel and a peck
of mulberries for wine
she blows soap bubbles
COPD and all
somehow a stray “S” appeared after my first word
the 6 November entry — Corrected:
male anoles duel
with flashing dewlaps
gathering blades of wakame
to sell at the market
turning out the colts
into an untouched field
up and down and up
again on the swing
Rewritten:
wild colts watching
the rise of a kite
Previously posted verses rewritten to replace “pony” with “colt”:
a colt’s whinny
from across the field
&
the colt on its back
rolling from side to side
Oops – wrong way round!
I spot the first movement
in a jar on my windowsill
in a jar on my windowsill
i spot the first movement
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
Who took a bite
from the mulberry tart?
a butterfly landing
on the small girl’s hand
Thanks for the explanation, Lorin. 🙂
a farmer whistling
through the lingering day
from hermit’s mountain shack
yearly rug-shaking ceremony
voices of children follow a butterfly
around the corner
whoops…I suppose ‘stroll’ takes us back to ‘stride’?
– Lorin
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
a stroll through pink haze
to the train station
– Lorin
Maureen Virchau November 6, 2014 at 10:42 pm
a pony’s whinny
from across the field
Hi Maureen,
You’ve picked the glaring non-kigo translation from the kigo list. Even Bill Higginson could let a bad translation through the net, it seems. I guess he wasn’t from a horsey background. 🙂
* colt, pony (wakagoma, late spring).
In English, foal designates a very young horse, a colt (male) or a filly (female) may be older but still young horses, but a pony is a small horse of any age. The kigo (Japanese) is in reference to young horses, and it’s a late spring kigo, so though I don’t know the Japanese term, my guess would be that it’s the more recently born horses, foals of about 3 or four months old, that are intended, but ‘foal’ would cover any young horse up to a year old… including young ponies. 😉
– Lorin
sprouting grasses push
the dirt aside
the squirm of tadpoles
in a ditch
whirligig flamingoes
return to the front lawn
pointing to a frog
diving in
pointing to monarchs
gathering on the sill
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the swing seat’s underside
for all to see
the pony on its back
rolling from side to side
pinwheel held out the car window
round and round it spins
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
– Michael Dylan Welch
wallflowers grow and rest
in the warm garden
gathering around a corral
to watch the frolicking colts
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
– Michael Dylan Welch
beach grasses grow
along an ever-changing shore
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
the simple pleasure
of a red balloon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhGLI7yyzYM
daffodils lining a new trail
towards the final peak
I too will really miss this renku – my first ever!
Thank you to John and everyone who participated 🙂
my gaze rises with geese
to the next mountain peak
I am going to miss this renku 🙁
climbing high in the willow
tree to see the way home
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
my balloon sets sail
towards the sunset
beach combing
for matching shells
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
– Michael Dylan Welch
hope to see the other side
of my inland sea
* * *
The Great Lakes in North America are referred to as inland seas. I live by Lake Michigan. There’s a Wikipedia article and other sources online, if someone would like more information.
the season finale
to be continued . . .
the season finale cliffhanger
changes everything
a pony’s whinny
from across the field
planting perennials
for those left behind
thousands tilling rice paddies
in a sister community
the lingering day winds up
with a fresh cup of tea
the lingering day unwinds
over a fresh cup of tea
a new paint brush
dipped in sumi
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
–Michael Dylan Welch
something pink
in my gin and bitters
🙂
– Lorin
(Yes, I know it’s not suitable but couldn’t resist in relation to MDW’s subtle and humorous homage to Basho’s ‘blossoms in the soup, salad, everywhere’ haiku.)
my baseball glove
comes out of the closet
dog sniffs the east wind
for signs of his Master
shining wind
lifts his spirits to the heavens
shining wind
revives her spirits
Suggestions:
Curtains, bathroom wall, kitchen wall, chesterfield, Art Deco, furniture, bedroom wall (I think we once had that) . . . Come on, think!
Sheets, pillow cases, millions of things!
Too much paper . . .
the monarch lays her egg
under the milkweed leaf
east wind filling
the empty barn
males anoles duel
with flashing dewlaps
releasing a colt
into the pasture
suddenly the first downpour
in rhythm with the Ode to Joy
in no time the field steams
are changing in clouds
wild ponies watching
the rise of a kite
Thanks for the delightful words, Joel.
a frog dives
into the tadpoles
Triumphal Arc of Nature
the first rainbow
steams of tea pointing
to the double rainbow
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
– Michael Dylan Welch
light snow
on daffodils
like children with soap bubbles
this renku has delighted us
(thank you John Stevenson and ALL the poets who contributed – this renku has been delightful and truly educational for a beginner like me)
cherries in bloom
on the kitchen wallpaper
and outside too
– Michael Dylan Welch
primroses again
this passing spring
sailboards hasten
across crystalline waters